Nissan puts GT-R LM Nismo's racing career on ice

There were always going to be risks involved in creating an oddball like the GT-R LM Nismo. The radical racecar battled for consistency at Le Mans and now Nissan has pulled the plug on its World Endurance Championship involvement until problems that have plagued its energy recovery system can be sorted out.

With a front-engine, front-drive setup, trick aerodynamics, and front tires that are wider than the rears, the GT-R LM Nismo caught the world's attention when it was unveiled earlier this year. Unfortunately, the LMP1 racer failed to back-up that attention with results – although one of the cars made it to the finish at Le Mans, the LM Nismo was slow all weekend.

The problems centered around the GT-R LM Nismo's energy recovery system, which meant that many of the car's systems were compromised and the workload fell solely on the its 3.0-liter twin-turbo six cylinder motor.

"We've said it before but innovation hurts," said Nissan's Global Head of Brand, Marketing and Sales, Darren Cox. "We've built an LMP1 car that is very different to other racing cars as we continue to drive motorsport innovation. This has shown us once again that people want something different in motorsport and that gives us increased motivation to make our LMP1 car competitive."

Nissan will carry on with its testing program until it makes a decision about when the car will return to the World Endurance Championship.